Week of August 20th, 2012

GRANDMA'S FEATHER BED!

We had such a great time listening to this book and singing the verses today! The original song by John Denver is represented in this wonderfully illustrated book and CD by Christopher Canyon. . I brought a crib mattress into each room with me and the kids adored jumping up and down on the mattress while we listened to the John Denver CD, as well as while we sang "Five Little Monkeys" and other other jumping chants! As a cool/calm down activity, children laid down one at a time on the mattress while I sang "Rockabye ______ (child's name)". I slowly swayed ribbons over them to be "the wind" putting them to sleep. They enjoyed being tickled awake! :)

Here's a fun animated version by a different author that might jog your child's memory of the book reading today and the song. Enjoy!

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Week of August 13th, 2012

It’s All About Marching Band This Week!

The kids absolutely loved seeing our young music resident, Anna, visiting today with all of her awesome marching gear and her saxophone! We thank Anna for the multiple times she has visited music class this year to talk about singing lessons, playing instruments, and being in marching band!

This time around, with the topic of marching band on the table, Anna surprised students by marching in to the beat of a drum (see the video below!!!) and talking about how to roll step—a “heel/toe” step that Anna’s director has labeled the “toothpaste” step! Anna demonstrated how this step looks like you are squeezing the last bit of toothpaste from the tube, and we practiced it together up and down the hallways and outside to the cadence of the Spring Lake schools theme song!

We also learned a few more fun facts about marching band, watched a superb video of the University of Hawaii forming a giant stick figure (see below), and younger children had some fun with Hickory Dickory Dock with puppets and Ring around the Rosie.

Thanks for visiting the blog today, and thanks again to Anna for visiting and sharing her love of music with the kids. Ask your child today about marching band, saxophones, and the “toothpaste” step!

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Week of August 6th, 2012

FRUIT AND VEGGIE SHAKERS!

Today in music class we had a great time using our Remo fruit and veggie shakers! There were several shaker and fruit themed songs we sang, some of which focused on playing and resting, or large motor movements. The others were just for fun but also incorporated the element of learning the names of fruits and vegetables that we might not otherwise know! I was actually surprised by the number of children who knew what the avocado was—one of my favorites to eat!—which was impressive! There must be quite a few families at Joyful Noise who buy avocados frequently. Yum!

Pictures, videos and an mp3 clip of a fun chant (Bananas Unite) are all linked below.

I hope everyone had a nice Coast Guard week. I enjoyed my vacation but I’m so glad to be back at work! J

SHAKER SONG (featured above in infant room):

Way up high! (Shake up high)

Way down low! (Shake down low)

Round in a circle, here we go! (In a circle)

Shake really fast!

Shake really slow.

Now hide behind your back (hide shaker). Where'd it go?

Avocado!

BANANAS UNITE CHANT (mp3 download)

Bananas UNITE! (Open arm clap)

Peel, bananas, peel peel, bananas

I said peel, bananas, peel peel, bananas!

Peel them down the left (pretending to peel to left)

Peel them down the right (peel to right)

Peel them down the middle (both sides at once)

Then UMPH take a bite (chomp sound, pretending to eat banana).

There are other fun versions of this chant! You can find them easily by searching "Bananas Kid Chant" or "Bananas Unite Chant". :)

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FYI: The four's class will be rescheduling music for Thursday this week due to their picnic at East End park today. We will be repeating today's class with students! :)

Week of July 23rd, 2012

GRAPHING PITCH!

It was a fun mathematical music day today as we explored the relationships between size and pitch and graphed these ideas using a basic chart (show below with three categories: items with certain pitches, and items categorized generally as "low" or "high"). Children participated in graphing by using a sticker to represent their instrument. Our younger groups only categorized pitches (or musical notes) as high or low, but our older students also categorized them by their assigned name in the music scale (we did the C major scale which is all natural notes; C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C).

All of the students enjoyed exploring large and small cymbals, xylophones, desk bells, drums and boomwhackers of different lengths and tones. Our younger groups also enjoyed having the book "Wheels on the Bus" sang to them!

Also make sure to check out the download of the "Grandma's Glasses" mp3. It's a fun fingerplay that we enjoy doing that also illustrates manipulating the pitch of your voice from high to low!

The Three's Class Graph!

“These Are Grandma’s Glasses”

MP3 download (1 mb)

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SCHOOL AGE UPDATE: I apologize for a lack of content for our school age group in this blog! I was out of town last week on our typical music day and therefore, don't have an update on our class for you this week! I will let parents know, however, that this coming Thursday we will be continuing to learn our new prayer chants/songs and also experimenting with this week's lesson of pitch graphing. :)

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REMINDER: No music class next week! I will be absent for my yearly vacation to Mackinac Island with my family! :) I will look forward to resuming normal music classes the week of August 7th!

Week of July 16th, 2011

Piano Vs. Forte

Today in music class, we discussed the difference between the dynamics of piano and forte!

Piano, or playing soft, is symbolized by a lowercase “p” in music. Forte, or a full volume, is symbolized by a lowercase “f”. Today in music class, we focused on the actual volume of the dynamic versus its symbol, using pictures of items that are considered loud and quiet, and also singing songs and performing motions with our rainbow streamers to loud and soft sounds on the drum and ukulele!

The kids did a great job of illustrating how to use their voice with both dynamic markings, and we had fun brainstorming things that were naturally “piano” and “forte”.

Please feel free to download the picture worksheet below to quiz your child on which items could be considered which dynamic marking, and encourage them to continue thinking about things that could be categorized as such. Try encouraging your child to speak in a “piano” voice the next time that they need a reminder to control volume!

Our younger students 2 and under also enjoyed "singing" a book today: "I'm a Little Teapot", written and illustrated by Iza Trapani.

PIANO VS. FORTE SYMBOL WORKSHEET (Printable download pdf)